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Although some parts of President Donald Trump’s agenda are getting bogged down by litigation, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is having better luck in the courtroom. Labor unions, Democrats and federal employees have filed several lawsuits arguing that DOGE is running roughshod over privacy protections or usurping power from other branches of government. But judges appointed by Democratic and Republican presidents haven’t always gone along with those arguments, at least so far. Most notably, DOGE critics are failing to obtain temporary restraining orders that would prevent Musk’s team from accessing sensitive government databases.

A coalition of labor unions filed a lawsuit Monday asking a federal court to stop Elon Musk’s team from accessing private data at the Education Department, the Treasury Department and the Office of Personnel Management. The suit, led by the American Federation of Teachers, alleges the Trump administration violated federal privacy laws when it gave Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency access to systems with personal information on tens of millions of Americans without their consent. It’s the latest in a flurry of legal challenges to Musk’s growing influence over federal agencies that he has promised to slash or dismantle.

Democratic lawmakers are seeking a Treasury Department investigation of the access that Elon Musk’s team was given to the government’s payment system. They are citing "threats to the economy and national security, and the potential violation of laws protecting Americans’ privacy and tax data.” The lawmakers, led by Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden, sent letters Friday to Treasury’s deputy inspector general and the acting inspector general for tax administration, as well as to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The letters laid out their concerns over a lack of transparency and public accountability about the access being granted to the federal government’s financial plumbing.

Democratic attorneys general in several states are vowing to file a lawsuit to stop Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing federal payment systems containing Americans’ sensitive personal information. Thirteen attorneys general, including New York’s Letitia James, said in a statement issued Thursday that they were taking action in defense of the Constitution, people's right to privacy and essential funding that individuals and communities are counting on. Government officials and labor unions have been among those raising concerns about DOGE’s involvement with the payment system for the federal government. They say it could lead to security risks or missed payments for programs such as Social Security and Medicare.